Exclusives
UPDATE: ‘The Thing’ Prequel Script Getting Rewritten!
Update: Heisserer responds directly to our breaking news! Read about it inside. We learned exclusively here at Bloody-Disgusting that Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment have tapped Eric Heisserer to rewrite The Thing prequel that was originally scripted by Ronald D. Moore (no idea how much of a rewrite). It was announced here yesterday that Heisserer also did some cleanup work on Wesley Strick’s screenplay for A Nightmare on Elm Street. Could he be the next big name is horror? It’s looking that way. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. is attached to direct the prequel to John Carpenter’s classic film that fallowed scientists in the Antarctic that are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.
Eric Heisserer responds to our news on his official blog:
“They were quite fast on the draw, those folks at Bloody. Yes, Matthijs and I are hard at work with the very smart team at Strike on the prequel. We are all so much in love with Carpenter’s film, so protective of it, we’re doing all we can to avoid stepping on its toes. I jumped at this job because I hold the Carpenter adaptation to very high standards, and I knew it would be a challenge to create a comparable companion piece. Sort of a “Nobody better screw this up, especially me” mentality. Lucky for me, the people at Strike and the director have the same standards.
This is a “from scratch” rewrite assignment for the most part, as was my work on A Nightmare on Elm Street. I can’t say any more on that. I have the highest respect for both Ron Moore and Wesley Strick.”
We’re pretty excited to see how it turns out. The original screenplay for The Thing prequel definitely needed some work.
In the original screenplay by Ronald D. Moore, the prequel takes place from the Norwegian camps point of view. An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog crashes leaving no explanation for the chase. During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage and members of the team that investigate. The team soon realize that an alien life-form with the ability to take over bodies is on the loose and they don’t know who may already have been taken over.
Out today in select theaters and on digital platforms is heartfelt and playful documentary Mockbuster, which sees a director cold call a studio and ask to helm a lost-world dinosaur epic.
Inexplicably, they say yes.
Our exclusive clip below highlights both the comedic nature of this bizarre scenario as well as the pressures of shooting dino feature The Land That Time Forgot in a mere six days, with no real feature experience.
A dino attack scene causes friction on set in this scene.
In the documentary, “A struggling filmmaker’s opportunity collides with chaos and compromise when Sharknado’s notorious studio, The Asylum, invites him to direct a ‘mockbuster.’ With six days, a micro budget, and mounting pressure, Mockbuster is a comedic, behind-the-scenes documentary exploring the balance between low-budget filmmaking and creative ambition.”
More than just an inside look at filmmaking via low-budget film studio The Asylum, it doubles as one man’s pursuit of his dreams to charming, humorous effect.
“Mockbuster is a documentary about my own journey, but it’s also a love letter to one of the last grindhouses still functioning in Hollywood. We get to meet the characters and creators of some of the most infamous (and most hated) B-movies of the last few decades. People who make movies purely for profit – no pretension, no artistry, just monsters, C-listers, and chaos. A film that both genre fans and cinephiles can enjoy. But Mockbuster isn’t just about filmmaking, it’s about losing sight of your dreams, and reclaiming them in your own twisted way,” Director Anthony Frith said in a statement.
From Executive Producer and famed documentarian David Farrier, Mockbuster opens in select theaters and on digital platforms beginning July 10.